The Last Time I Saw Edgeworth
by LemonSmoothie
Summary: A minific. Takes place during "Turnabout Goodbyes". Phoenix tells Maya of his childhood with Larry Butz and Miles Edgeworth. Rated T for language and blood.


"The Last Time I Saw Edgeworth"

Disclaimer: All characters from the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series are copyright Capcom. Original characters are mine.

December 27, 2016

7:45 PM.

Maya and I were eating dinner at Hamburger Heaven.

"Nick?" Maya asked through a mouthful of burger. "There's something I'm a little curious about."

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"Why did Mr. Edgeworth transfer out of your school?"

I thought a moment. "I think I know why. His name was Pierre. Pierre Kittiwake. Everyone knew him. Everyone feared him."

"A mean teacher?"

"No. A fellow kid. A pint-sized terror."

Maya looked surprised. "Really, Nick. Why would anyone be afraid of a kid?"

"Kids can be mean."

"Well, what did this Pierre do?"

"All sorts of nasty things."

"Like what?"

"During swimming class, he'd hold a hapless kid's head underwater as long as possible. He did it to me a few times. No matter how I tried, I couldn't break free. Pierre was as strong as an ox."

Maya pointed at my half-eaten burger. "Are you going to finish that?"

Thinking of Pierre was making me lose my appetite. "No."

Maya snatched it.

"Remember that class trial?" I asked.

"Yes," Maya said. "When everyone was against you."

"Well, Pierre was leading the charge."

"Then Mr. Edgeworth saved you!" Maya said. "He told them all off!"

"Yes. Unfortunately, Pierre never forgot that. And so he bugged Edgeworth, Larry, and me. For awhile, it seemed we could weather him..."

Maya looked solemn. "Then DL-6 happened, right?"

"Yes. When school reconvened on the sixth of January 2002, Edgeworth wasn't speaking to us during lunch. Larry and I knew something was wrong, but we didn't want to press him on it. It never occurred to us that it'd be that serious..."

_Pierre was standing by our table with his lunch box. "Mind if I sit by you guys today?" Without waiting for an answer, he took the fourth chair. "Well, Milesy, you're holding up well. All things considered."_

"_What are you talking about?" Edgeworth asked. His voice rose an octave. _

"_You're putting on such a brave face."_

"_What are you talking about?" I interrupted._

"_Nothing," Edgeworth said. "Just the ramblings of an idiot."_

"_You haven't told them?" Pierre said. His face lit up. "You see, guys, Mr. Edgeworth is dead. What a horrible son, going to school as if nothing happened instead of paying his respects."_

_I gasped. "Is that true?"_

"_Yes..." Edgeworth said. "Pierre...how do you know that?_

"_My dad was there," Pierre crowed. "At the courthouse. In fact, he was the one who identified your father."_

"_Judge Kittiwake..." Edgeworth stiffened. He dropped his sandwich. It landed on the floor, the cucumbers and watercress separating from the bread. "I..."_

_Pierre smirked. He had gotten a reaction, and now he was going in for the kill. "You know, it should have been you."_

"_Shut up," I said._

"_Stay out of this...Phoenix Wrong!" Pierre snapped. "Yes, Milesy. It should have been you. It should have been your blood on the floor of the courthouse elevator!"_

_Tears welled up in Edgeworth' eyes. "Stop it..."_

"_Pierre," Larry said. "I'm sorry."_

_Pierre looked at him quizzically. "For what?"_

_Larry slugged him so hard Pierre's head snapped back like a rubber band. "For that."_

_Pierre screamed. Blood poured from his nose. "What the hell, Butz?"_

_Edgeworth looked at the blood flowing liberally down Pierre's face, dripping on the cafeteria floor. Tears started to stream down his face._

"What happened after that?"

I shrugged. "Edgeworth went home. Larry got suspended for hitting Pierre." My hand involuntarily curled into a fist. "Both Larry and I told them what Pierre said. He didn't get in trouble." I remembered the principal's words: _Pierre was being mean, but they were just words. You know the saying, sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me. _

"What horrible things to say..." Maya said.

"I called Edgeworth's house that night. His mother answered. She told me that Edgeworth shut himself in his room and wasn't speaking to anybody. I think she had withdrawn him from school already. And so we never saw Edgeworth again."

"And what happened to Pierre?" Maya asked.

"Pierre was expelled three months later."

"Expelled?" Maya looked at me. "For what?"

"That's a story for another night." I closed my eyes, letting one last happy memory flood back. Before that fateful turn of events:

"_I swear, that Pierre should be eaten by lions," Larry declared._

"_If he were, I'd feel for the lion," I said._

"_Yes," said Edgeworth. "What a stomachache it would have!"_

_All three of us laughed._

The End.

Author's Note:

...Yes, Pierre's dad was the judge in the trial on December 28, 2001.

I just wrote this minific to explain why the young Miles Edgeworth transferred to another school, leaving his two best friends behind. Manfred Von Karma didn't take him in until at least June 2002, since he was "on vacation."

I'm thinking of doing a follow-up set after Trials and Tribulations where Phoenix meets the adult Pierre.


End file.
